Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Năm Tuần thứ 9 Thường niên,

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Năm Tuần thứ 9 Thường niên, Scripture: Mark 12:28-34

Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu dậy chúng ta là: Chúng ta được ơn cứu rỗi hay được lên thiên đàng không phải là chỉ biết tuân theo những lề luật hay là cố né tránh những chuyện khỏi rắc rối, gây ra tội lỗi, Nhưng chúng ta đươc Chúa đảm bảo là Chúa Kitô sẽ luôn luôn đồng hành với chúng ta khi chúng ta đến với Ngài. Nếu chúng ta cùng chết với Ngài, chúng ta sẽ cùng được hưởng phúc với Ngài và nếu chúng ta chịu đựng đau khổ với Ngài ta; chúng ta sẽ cùng đồng hưởng tôn nhan Chúa trên Trời với Ngài.
            Thậm chí nếu chúng ta không trung tín với Chúa, Chúa Giêsu vẫn luôn trung tín với chúng ta, Ngài không thể từ bỏ chính mình, và chúng ta là một phần của Ngài, Cuộc sống của chúng ta phải sống một trong những yêu tố như yêu thương và phục vụ, cũng giống như cuộc đời của Chúa Kitô. Trong nhiều cách dù nhỏ, hay to lớn, chúng ta cũng phải vác thập giá của chúng ta và đi theo Chúa. Vì cuộc hành trình đức tin của chúng ta là một trong những quan hệ với Chúa Giêsu.
            Giới răn trọng nhất mà Chúa Giêsu đã dạy cho người luật sĩ trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay là kim chỉ nam để hướng dẫn cuộc sống của chúng ta. Yêu Mến Thiên Chúa hết lòng, hết sức và trên tất cả mọi thứ mà ở nơi chúng ta, và yêu những người chung quanh như chúng ta yêu chính mình, Nếu chúng ta làm được điều đó, ngay cả những khi chúng ta lầm nỡ, chúng ta sẽ sống, Điều này trên thực tế là luật pháp duy nhất mà thật sự là Chúa Giêsu đã đã ban cho chúng ta;  tất cả những lề luật khác, đơn thuần chỉ là biểu hiện của một nguyên tắc cơ bản mà vũ trụ này được cai trị.  Tình yêu là động lực đê cho các hành tinh, các ngôi sao tinh tú được di chuyển trong vũ trụ của chúng ta, và vì vậy “tình yêu” phải hiện diện trong trái tim của chúng ta, trong tâm hồn, và linh hồn. Khi chúng ta khép kín tâm hồn và không có tình yêu, chúng ta đã đóng cửa tâm hồn và để Thiên Chúa ở bên ngoài. Giới răn trọng nhất này nên phải là một phần suy niệm và kiểm thảo hàng ngày của chúng ta.
 
Reflection SG
Being saved or going to heaven is far more than just obeying the rules or staying out of trouble. We are assured that Christ walks with us as we walk with him. If we die with him, we will rise with him; and if we endure with him; we will reign with him.
            Even if we are not faithful, Jesus is ; he cannot deny himself, and we are part of him. Our life must be one of love and service, just as his life was. In many small ways, and sometimes big ones, we too must take up our cross and follow him. Our faith journey is a partnership with Jesus.
            The great commandment that Jesus gave the earnest scribe is the compass by which we guide our life. Love God with everything that is in you, and love your neighbour as if he or she were part of yourself. If we do that, even if we have made many mistakes, we will live. This in fact is the only real law that Jesus gave us - all of the other laws are merely expressions of this one fundamental principle by which the universe is ruled. Love powers the planets and stars and all that is in our universe, and so it must power our hearts, minds, and souls. When we shut out love, we have shut out God. This great commandment should be part of our daily meditation and reflection.   Lord, help me to pattern my life on Your love commandment.
 
Thursday 9^th Ordinary Time 2023
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions. Mark 12:34
Finally, we have the witness of one of the religious leaders, a scribe, who got it right. The passage above is the conclusion of the interaction with this scribe who asks Jesus which of all the commandments is the first and greatest. Jesus gives the twofold answer that we are to love God above all, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. The scribe then responds to Jesus’ answer by saying, “Well said, teacher. You are right…” And then Jesus compliments this scribe with the quoted passage above.
Recall that almost all of the Pharisees were continually rebuked by Jesus because of their self-righteous arrogance. The Sadducees were also chastised but often to a lesser degree. And now we have a scribe who outshines them all. The scribes were primarily functionaries who copied or created various liturgical and legal documents. Some of the Pharisees were also scribes. And most of the time, when Jeus condemned the Pharisees, He also condemned the scribes. But this scribe is different. This scribe appears to not only be interested in Jesus’ answer but also manifests “understanding” of what Jesus said to him. Don’t underestimate the importance of this gift of understanding.
In order to truly understand that which our Lord speaks to us, we must be open. And openness requires humility. Humility is a virtue that is contrary to a “know-it-all” attitude. It’s a disposition of mind and heart that listens to God speak, hears what He says, comprehends all truth by the gift of grace, and prayerfully submits to that truth. Humility enables us to look beyond ourselves for the answers to the most difficult questions in life. It enables us to turn to the one and only source of truth, Jesus Christ Himself. And the fruit of this humble openness is the gift of understanding. It’s an understanding of the mysteries of life which is beyond our natural intellectual capacity. The grace of God is able to teach and form the humble soul and fill it with clarity of vision and an acceptance of the deepest truths.
Reflect, today, upon Jesus’ words to this scribe. “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Does Jesus also speak these words to you? Have you humbly sought out the answers to the many questions of life by turning to our Lord? More specifically, are you able to look at your life and rejoice in the fact that God has also given you His gift of understanding? If not, then look within and consider which questions you most need to bring to Jesus. Place them before Him and then listen, be open and be ready to respond when He speaks. Hearing and responding to our Lord will result in our Lord saying these same words to you.
My Lord of all Truth, You look upon the humble souls with graciousness and mercy, and You reveal to them the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Please give me the gift of humility, dear Lord, so that I may always turn to You with every question in life. Fill me with the gift of understanding so that I may know how to love and serve You more faithfully each and every day. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Thursday 9^th Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I seek to know your will. I promise throughout the day to go to your Son and eagerly listen to his words so that I may know how to act. Pour out your Spirit into my heart to guide my actions.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Third Test: In the Gospel of Mark, the third dispute (Mark 12:28-34) is not explicitly called a test as it is in the Gospel of Matthew (22:35). The scribe seems to approach Jesus in sincerity and asks him a question about the 613 commandments contained in the Law of Moses (the Torah). One of the things the scribes, the scholars of the Law, often sought for in the Law was an overarching principle or first commandment that summarized and grounded all the other commandments (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 246). When asked by the scribe what he thinks about this question, Jesus identifies the commandment to love God with our entire being as the first and greatest commandment. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5. This was the Israelite confession of faith, known as the Shema (“Hear”). “In fidelity to Deut 6:7 devout Jews recite the Shema every morning and evening. Jewish homes usually have a mezuzah, a little box containing the Shema inscribed on parchment, affixed to the doorpost (see Deut 6:9). Orthodox Jewish men (and sometimes women) wear tefillin (or phylacteries), leather boxes containing the Shema, on their head and hand during prayer (Deut 6:8)” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 247). The Shema affirms that the Lord (YHWH) alone is God. As the creator of all things, God deserves all that we are in return.
2. Loving God and Loving Neighbor: Jesus does not stop with love for God as the first commandment, but announces the second greatest commandment and quotes Leviticus 19:18: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. To love is to will the good for someone. We are called to love others and will what is good for them just as we seek what is truly good for ourselves. Love of God and love of our brothers and sisters go together. As the First Letter of John teaches, we are liars if we say we love God but do not love our fellow human beings (1 John 4:20). The scribe sees that Jesus, the New Solomon, has passed the third test. Jesus has imparted true wisdom about the meaning of our earthly life (give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s) and the nature of our life after death (God is the God of the living). He now teaches how love is at the center and foundation of everything.
3. Dying and Living with Christ: The First Reading likely contains an ancient Christian hymn that speaks about the blessings and curses that await us at the moment of our death and the final judgment. On the one hand, dying with Christ leads to life with him and persevering through trial leads to reigning with Christ. On the other, rejecting and denying Christ leads to Christ denying us. As we hear in Matthew’s Gospel: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day,o ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’” (Matthew 7:21-23). We died with Christ at our Baptism and rose to new life with him. Do we continue to die with Christ and die to ourselves throughout our lives? “Those who persevere in faith will live and reign with Christ, but those who deny him will be disowned and disgraced in the end. Our ultimate certainty is that Christ will follow through on his promises and threats and so exercise his justice and mercy in perfect faithfulness to the terms of the New Covenant” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 398).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I do not want to be near your Kingdom. I want to be fully within the Kingdom. I want you to dwell and reign in me. I desire to be your apostle and bring you and your message of merciful love to the ends of the earth.
Living the Word of God: How am I loving God and loving my neighbor? List out the concrete ways you have loved God this past week. What moments did I spend with God in prayer? When did I reject temptation and choose to love? List out the concrete ways you have loved your neighbor this past week. Did I spend quality time with my spouse and family? Did I serve the poor in some way? Did I practice any corporeal or spiritual works of mercy?
 
Thursday 9^th Ordinary Time 2023
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come before you humbly. As one who has frequently fallen into sin, I know my weakness. Your great love assures me that your grace can keep me on the path to holiness.
Petition: Lord, help me live according to the New Testament.
1. Getting Beyond Myself: A scribe asks Jesus a pointed question and assumes that there is only a one-step answer. Jesus goes beyond a one-step response and links the love of God with the love of neighbor. "Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness" (2 John 1:9). Christianity is not strictly a me-and-Jesus affair; such faith can fall into self-centeredness and disdain for the world. We are called to be leaven in the world, to bring light to the darkness. Jesus wants us to be his arms, legs, and voice in the world. Am I content to say prayers and make weekly Mass but to do little else? Might God be asking me to get more involved in the parish? In the school? In some charity work?
2. The Gift of Self Is the Greatest Gift: The scribe senses that burnt offerings are insufficient. Burnt offerings are something external to us. We let go of things (money, used clothes, old furniture) much faster than we let go of our time and our way of thinking. We give things but not ourselves. Am I loathe to give more of my time to help the Church? Why?
3. Fear of God’s Demands: The scribes understood that Jesus was raising the bar on religious observance. Sacrificing a sheep or a goat wasn't enough anymore. Christ wanted them to give of themselves, and that left them uneasy. The Old Testament sacrifices gave way to the New Testament sacrifice of self. That's what Jesus wanted; that's what Jesus himself gave. He gave himself up to a cross to confound our self-love. Does it scare me to die to myself? To my whims? What is Jesus asking of me that makes me uneasy?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, you know it's costly for me to let go of my way of thinking, to give up my time. Help me realize this may be the perfect offering you seek from me.
Resolution: I will offer to do a favor that is costly in personal terms.
 
Thursday 9^th Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: 
Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for the grace to be able to come before you in prayer. I realize that prayer is your gift to me. Please open my heart, soul, and mind to hear your message and to respond generously. Cultivate in me an ever-growing desire to know, love, and serve you, and in so doing be your instrument for the salvation of others.
Encountering Christ:
The First of All Commandments? A scribe came to Jesus asking, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” His question was similar to the rich young man’s: “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). St. John Paul II in the Encyclical “The Splendor of Truth” wrote, “For the young man, the question is not so much about rules to be followed, but about the full meaning of life.” Both the rich young man and this scribe wanted to know what is most important in life. “What gives my life purpose?” “How should I lead my life?” No one can truly avoid these fundamental questions. Even the most superficial approach to life, seeking only immediate gratification, is itself an implicit answer to this question. To ask this question seriously and sincerely is an important step toward maturity and toward finding God.
Love God with All Your Heart: Jesus responded to the scribe by quoting the Shema Israel from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.” The scribe would have known the passage well. Therefore, Jesus seemed to be affirming what the scribe would have already guessed, as indicated in the account of this encounter in the Gospel according to Luke, in which Jesus had the scribe answer his own question (Luke 10:27). It is as if a coach were reminding an experienced player to “stick to basics.” The heart of both the Old and the New Testaments is God’s love for man and man’s need to love God. The principle point of the New Testament is that God became man so that man could love God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Jesus did not come to replace the Old Testament but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself: Jesus did add another law to that of love of God: love of neighbor. However, the second law is a consequence of the first. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the “first commandment enjoins us to love God above everything and all creatures for him and because of him” (2093). Charity is not mere philanthropy. We love our neighbor because we want to love God. St. John the Evangelist puts it even more succinctly, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another… if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1 John 4:11-12).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, may your grace ever increase in me the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. Help my contemplation of your love for me deepen my love for you. Help me to see that my love for you and my neighbor are intimately connected, and may my love have the concrete and practical expression of loving my neighbor in my daily encounters. Let my smile, my words, and my actions be a sign of your love to my neighbors. May I also accept the love that you show me through them.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will seek out at least one person to show some act of kindness.
 
REFLECTION
The segments of Mark's Gospel we read in the liturgies of the first half of this week tell of the tensions that existed between Jesus and Israel's religious and secular leaders. Some of Jesus' enemies wanted him arrested, others ridiculed him and his teaching, and still others sought to entrap him in a verbal contradiction. In today's reading, a scribe questions Jesus. Anyone familiar with the various groups that populate the Gospels, given the context, would expect the scribe to launch into another attack on Jesus. All scribes, after all, are Pharisees' men. Along with the priests and the Herodians and the Pharisee all scribes are hostile to Jesus. And so we might tend to classify a person and judge him as we would judge the group in which he belongs. But this is unjust and unfair. The scribe in today's Gospel is there not to entrap Jesus but to ask a sincere religious question of him.
Jesus recognizes this and treats the scribe with respect. He even praises him, indicating that his comment on Jesus' response to his question shows him to be a sincere person who is not far from the kingdom of God. Jesus could have assumed, as we might well have done, that the scribe should be classified as his enemy. But Jesus doesn't believe in stereotypes and prejudices. Jim Auer suggests that we ask ourselves a series of questions: "Whose goodness am I unable to see simply because of who or what they are, what they belong to or believe in, where they live or what they look like." The response we give to these questions, he suggests, will tell us how close we are to the reign of God.